20 Uses for Vinegar that You Never Knew

Part of being prepared is being able to repurpose and re-use items. That’s why vinegar is such a great thing!

You can use vinegar for cleaning, emergency situations, food storage and more! Take a look at 20 uses below. You can also comment below to tell us what you have used vinegar for.

1. Clear dirt off PCs and electronics
Your computer, printer, fax machine, and other home office gear will work better if you keep them clean and dust-free. Turn off your machine and wash with a mix of equal parts white vinegar and water. Wash with a cloth, not a spray bottle. You can use cotton swabs for tight spaces.

2. Get rid of smoke odor
If you’ve recently burned a steak or can’t get rid of that cigarette smell, remove the lingering smoky odor by placing a shallow bowl about three-quarters full of white or cider vinegar in the room where the scent is strongest. To get the smell out of the air, moisten a cloth and wave it in the air.

3. Wipe away mildew
Use undiluted vinegar to wipe away heavy mildew stains. Mix it with water to clean light mildew stains. You can even use a vinegar mist in a spray bottle to prevent mildew stains from forming in rugs and carpets.

4. Clean chrome and stainless steel
To clean chrome and stainless steel fixtures around your home, apply a light misting of undiluted white vinegar from a recycled spray bottle. Buff with a soft cloth to bring out the brightness.

5. Unglue stickers, decals, and price tags
Don’t you hate when you peel a sticker off of your new furniture or product and it’s still sticky from the glue? Worry no more! Use full-strength white vinegar and gently scrape it off the product. Use an expired credit card to scrape. You can also uses this solution to get glue off of glass, plastic and walls.

6. Brighten up brickwork
Have dingy bricks around your fireplace? Use 1 cup of white vinegar mixed with 1 gallon of warm water to scrub the area. Your bricks will be looking shiny and nice!

7. Revitalize wood paneling
You can also use vinegar to shine up your dull wood paneling. Mix 1 pint warm water with 4 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Let the mixture soak for a few minutes and then polish.

8. Remove carpet stains
You can lift out many stains from your carpet with vinegar:

For tough, ground-in dirt and other stains, make a paste of 1 tablespoon vinegar with 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and rub it into the stain using a dry cloth. Let it set for two days, then vacuum.

9. Keep car windows frost-free
Vinegar is a great way to keep frost from forming on your car windows. Spray the outside of your windows with a mixture of 3 parts white vinegar to 1 part water.

10. Refresh your refrigerator
Have you ever smelled a refrigerator that hasn’t been used for a long time? It’s gross! You can freshen up your fridge with a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water. You can use the solution to wash the interior and exterior of the fridge.

11. Steam-clean your microwave
Fill a bowl with 1 cup water and ¼ cup vinegar. Set the bowl in the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes. Once the bowl cools down, use the solution to wipe off the walls of the microwave.

12. Disinfect cutting boards
Use full-strength white vinegar to clean wood cutting boards or butcher block countertops. This is a great alternative to dishwasher detergent because it can weaken surfaces and wood fiber. It disinfects against E.coli, salmonellsa and staphylococcus.

13. Clean china, crystal, and glassware
Have soap spots and dingy spots on your dishes after you put them in the dishwasher? Simply add a few ounces of vinegar to your dishwasher. It will prevent those hard-water stains from showing up.

14. Trap fruit flies
Did you bring home fruit flies from the market? You can make traps for them that can be used anywhere around your house by filling an old jar about halfway with apple cider vinegar. Punch a few holes in the lid, screw it back on, and you’re good to go.

15. Tenderize and purify meats and seafood
Soaking a lean or inexpensive cut of red meat in a couple of cups of vinegar breaks down tough fibers to make it more tender. You can also use vinegar to tenderize seafood steaks. Let the meat or fish soak in full-strength vinegar overnight.

17. Ease sunburn and itching
Gently rub a sunburn or rash with cotton balls or a soft cloth soaked with white or cider vinegar. Try to apply this before the sunburn begins to sting. You can use this to help treat insect bites or rashes from poison ivy or poison oak.

18. Clean your eyeglasses
When it’s more difficult to see with your glasses on than it is with them off, it’s a clear indication that they’re in need of a good cleaning. Applying a few drops of white vinegar to your glass lenses and wiping them with a soft cloth will easily remove dirt, sweat, and fingerprints, and leave them spotless. Don’t use vinegar on plastic lenses, however

19. Stop reds from running
Unless you have a fondness for pink-tinted clothing, take one simple precaution to prevent red washable clothes from ruining your wash loads. Soak your new clothes in a few cups of undiluted white vinegar for 10-15 minutes before their first washing. You’ll never have to worry about running colors again! This also works with other bright colors that you worry might run.

20. Speed germination of flower seed
You can get woody seeds, such as moonflower, passionflower, morning glory, and gourds, off to a healthier start by lightly rubbing them between a couple of sheets of fine sandpaper-and soaking them overnight in a solution of 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1 pint warm water. Next morning, remove the seeds from the solution, rinse them off, and plant them.

90 Comments

I have used striaght vinegar (cider) on fireant bites and any kind of bug bite to relieve the itch and pain.

August 9th, 2012 at 10:09 am

Marlene Lauder wrote:

I use vinegar as the rinse agent in the dishwasher. Instead of Jet Dry, I just fill the rinse agent cavity in my

August 9th, 2012 at 10:26 am

Marlene Laudee wrote:

Instead of Jet Dry I use white vinegar in my dishwasher as the rinse agent. Simply fill the dispenser cup in the door with white vinegar, set the machine to wash and your dishes come out sparkling clean.
I also use white vinegar as the fabric softener inthe

August 9th, 2012 at 10:35 am

Jon wrote:

Clean my distiller boiler tank by soaking tank in full strength white vinegar overnight. Dissolves most mineral deposits and allows me to continue to distill my well water again. I have heavy minerals like lime and calcium and it removes them just fine. No commercial cleaners necessary.

August 9th, 2012 at 10:52 am

Jon wrote:

Clean my distiller boiler tank by soaking tank in full strength white vinegar overnight. Dissolves most mineral deposits and allows me to continue to distill my well water again. I have heavy minerals like lime and calcium and it removes them just fine. No commercial cleaners necessary.

August 9th, 2012 at 10:52 am

Steven Hogan wrote:

Two or three Teaspoons swallowed a day helps your digestive tract and purifies your blood, I also used it to stop infections (in the field)applied to cuts and scrapes. It is a great all around disinfectant cleaner, I prefer using it along with fresh lemon juice in my kitchen.
It’s uses in cooking,sauces,dressings are endless……

August 9th, 2012 at 11:36 am

Steven Hogan wrote:

Oh, I forgot one- Spray your tomato plants with a good coating of stout vinegar water to prevent plants from be eaten by tomato worms(moth larva) and other insects

August 9th, 2012 at 11:42 am

Cherie wrote:

#1 Vinegar and baking soda mixture for stinky socks on a small load in hot water wash.

#2 Straight vinegar/alchol equal amount combo- on work related stains in uniforms,pour on stain and let set an hour then wash.

#3 Straight vinegar on chrome of vehicle and headlights/tailights/mirrors/glass use a cotton cloth to prevent scratches.

I used to vinegar to wipe down picnic tables. Flies left the area and did not return to the picnic table.

I sprayed vinegar to the exposed areas of my body such as my arms, legs and neck and did not get mosquito bites. This was especially helpful in the evening in the rural areas of the Dominican Republic.

Excellent article, thank you! Before I started looking into emergency preparedness and homesteading, I had no idea vinegar was so useful. I’d never bought it. Seriously. Now I stock up on it. Thanks!!

August 9th, 2012 at 1:27 pm

Cynthia Salyer wrote:

I use vinegar with baking soda for cleansing agents for sinks, bathroom fixtures, ceramic top stove…it acts as a natural disinfectant and works as well as commercial scrubbing agents. Vinegar and baking soda in their own right are natural ingredients and each dismiss bad odors.

Also, use vinegar in water to mop our floors. Our tile man told us when he laid the ceramic tile to ONLY use this for cleaning the tiles…it cleans better than anything, it is natural and will not harm the ceramic tile and will not take off the sheen on the tile. The vinegar/water solution does not leave residue or streaks, and the floor dries faster.

Vinegar is also good for cleaning windows/mirrors. Spray on surface and wipe down with old newspaper. Amazing!

AND, one of the benefits I have found in addition to low cost, it helps to deodorize the house…remember that it absorbs odors? Well, there you are … it is multi-purpose.

August 9th, 2012 at 1:30 pm

woodee wrote:

Nice!
How about a printer-friendly option?

August 9th, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Cliff wrote:

For indigestion (not acid reflux) instead of using an antacid (which dries up all the acid in your stomach causing it to generate a BUNCH all at once) I take a shot glass and fill it half full of either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Take my shot and indigestion is cured INSTANTLY (within a minute or so!)

August 9th, 2012 at 1:54 pm

Marlene Lauder wrote:

I use vinegar as the rinse agent in the dishwasher. Instead of Jet Dry or other costly products, fill the rinse agent cup in the door with white vinegar, and you’ll get sparkling clean dishes.
I also use vinegar as a fabric softener for the laundry. Just fill the fabric softener dispenser with white vinegar and set the machine to “Wash”. You’ll be surprised at how soft your clothes are!

August 9th, 2012 at 1:58 pm

Mark wrote:

Plain white distilled vinegar is also used to counteract the poison from a jellyfish sting.

August 9th, 2012 at 2:02 pm

jane wrote:

White vinegar is also fabulous at killing weeds. You dont have to spend a fortune on those expensive gallons of weed killer. Put straight white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray on weeds. By the next day they will be yellow and die exactly like weed killer. A gallon is only 99 cents.how much better can you get!
.

August 9th, 2012 at 2:07 pm

Colleen wrote:

Just read the vinegar solutions – there is a sketch of a woman cleaning the shower –
Can vinegar be used to clean fiberglass shower stalls? Hope you say yes! The commercial stuff is awful and the shower never looks clean.
thank you –
Colleen Marie

The article brought many new ideas to light and a new item to my preparedness kit. Keep the information coming.

August 9th, 2012 at 2:11 pm

Peter wrote:

Cleans out mineral deposits clogging water heater coils (in furnace). Just get a hand-drill pump from any hardware store. Use garden hoses to connect pump to coil input valve. Connect another hose to output valve and circulate straight clear vinegar through coil for 15 minute. Works great! Plumbers charge $300 buck for an acid wash.

August 9th, 2012 at 2:29 pm

Tracey wrote:

I use a 1/2 cup vinegar mixed with water in a spray bottle to clean my laminate floors. Just a lightly spray sections, mop it, DONE!

August 9th, 2012 at 9:08 am

Linda wrote:

My grandmother used to use vinegar to clean the outside of her windows. I remember it got all the hard water off but cannot remember how she did it or what the solution recipe was. Does anyone know?

August 9th, 2012 at 9:46 am

Julian Stovall wrote:

My wife uses white distilled vinegar instead of fabric softener in the wash rinse cycle. It has been working great, leaves no residue and seems to help rinse the detergent out of the clothes. Overall clothes seem cleaner.

August 9th, 2012 at 10:27 am

Rob Dell wrote:

I always use full strength white vinegar to eliminate pesky squirrels. It’s easy and effective. Pour full strength white vinegar into a 3 quart pot to about 4-5 inches depth.
Catch the squirrels with a net and hold them face-down in the vinegar until they stop twitching. After that, the treated squirrels will no longer raid your bird feeder. Try it and see for yourself.

August 9th, 2012 at 11:11 am

Arlyn wrote:

1oz of white vinegar in spray botle fill with water them you use for iron the clothes that have hard wrinkles is great

August 9th, 2012 at 11:13 am

Dranda wrote:

With all the animal abuse going on, I don’t think Rob Dell is funny. Your suggestion is cruel, and I’m sure that is how you treat the people and animals in your life. Lets keep this to the cleaning or health uses of vinegar not animal abuse.

August 9th, 2012 at 11:35 am

Thom wrote:

I mix 1 part apple cider vinegar with 7-8 parts water and soak blueberries, cherries, etc. or any other produce prone to developing fungus in the refrigerator for about 2 minutes. Usually, my blueberries will keep for a couple weeks longer. And you never taste the vinegar. Great article.

August 9th, 2012 at 12:52 pm

Joseph Christopher wrote:

Instead of buying costly shampoos for lice (I know…yuck!)mix 50% vinegar w/ 50 % alcohol to kill the nasty things. Wash the affected areas; let dry; wash with your regular shampoo and comb out. No, I have never had them, but they have been a problem in some of my friends childrens schools.

August 9th, 2012 at 3:02 pm

Rich wrote:

Vinegar is also called Acetic acid.
That is why it is such a good cleaner.

August 9th, 2012 at 3:06 pm

Mary S. wrote:

In stead of taking costly medications for acid indigestion that rolls up in your throat and burns, I get up and go get the (raw) apple cider vinegar out of the fridge, put 1 tablespoon in a glass of water and drink it straight down.
Indigestion gone, no pills, no antacids pure raw apple cider vinegar, and the indigestion is gone and no side effects either. Another benefit from it, it seems not to come back for a long time but when it does back to the fridge and another 1 tablespoon and a glass of water. IT’s great.

August 9th, 2012 at 4:50 pm

Ben Novick wrote:

For medical marijuana growers, soak seeds in a 8 oz glass of water with ten drops of distilled white vinegar and most will sprout within 48 hrs.

If you have food poisoning or stomach flu drink some with water. You will most likely throw up once, but will wonderful afterwards. Rinse mouth with vinegar if you have a toothache or sore throat it will kill the pain. Kidney stones- drink vinegar and you will pass them faster and easier and it will help with some of the pain. Have tried all and it does work

Good for getting rid of dandruff. Spray on scalp and rub in and let it set for few hours. You won’t have a problem with dandruff for good while. Also good for making your hair soft, use it instead of hair conditioner. It also is also good for dissolving the nits in hair after treating hair for lice with anything oily, like mayonnaise, cooking oil, baby oil.

Wipe down counters, floors, etc where ants have been. This destroys their trails and may prevent ants in the future.

Rob Dell: I hope you are joking although it is not funny. A better solution – add hot pepper flakes to your bird seed and/or sprinkle ground cinnamon around the base of the bird feeder or other areas where squirrels are a problem. This should take care of the problem without the cruelty. And, the birds don’t mind.

August 10th, 2012 at 8:06 am

Molly Gordon wrote:

If you suffer from leg cramps especially at night….take a spoonful of vinegar and they will be gone!

August 10th, 2012 at 8:55 am

Patrick R. wrote:

Run a Cycle of Vinegar Diluted with Water to Clean the Build-Up, especially from Hard-Water, in a Coffee Brewer/Pot.

August 10th, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Tore wrote:

Hi!

Please keep in mind that as carbs are not carbs (but high glycemic or low glycemic).

Fats are not fats (but Omega 3, 6, or 9; trans, etc.)

So, vinegar is not vinegar.
For laundry and other cleaning purposes, use white vinegar.
For consumption, apple cider vinegar (brown) is best. Paul Bragg’s vinegar with the “Mother” still present is the absolute best for medicinal or recipe applications. White vinegar is not a wise choice for consumption.

August 10th, 2012 at 1:28 pm

DAVID wrote:

For a sore throat, a couple three tbl spoons(whatever you stand) in a glass of orange juice, and sip…kills germs like a hammer kills ants, tho less violent…..for emergency prep: a lot of vinegar and a lot of honey. Both can be used internally and externally to treat wounds…a dab of honey on cuts or larger cleaned wounds works better than expensive antibiotic creams. Dilute vinegar in juice also cleans your teeth……NEVER drink vinegar straight! too pwoerful…tastes terrible too….

August 10th, 2012 at 1:41 pm

Tore wrote:

Hi! David has a great and worthy tip. But again, be aware that honey is not honey.
Most major brands and generic brands of honey today are from China and are seriously diluted. In an alarming number of cases, they actually have contaminants that could infect a wound or feed the bacteria present.
Use raw honey; preferably organic. Try to obtain your honey from a local beekeeper or at a farmer’s market.
Top of the line in effectiveness is Raw Manuka honey (expensive) which usually is graded for its bioactivity (usually from 15 to 35.

August 10th, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Michelle wrote:

My children would get incredibly high fevers when they were younger. Even after a dose of Motrin or Tylenol, they were still high.

My boss once told me to soak their socks in vinegar, then put them on. Yes, the house smelled funny for a while, but every single time it broke their fever.

I don’t think your idea of getting rid of squirrels is very kind. You must be a horrible person to want to abuse innocent animals. I don’t care for animal abusers in any form. Could have done without your suggestion. I will pray for you.

August 11th, 2012 at 1:45 am

margo watt wrote:

Instead of waving the vinegar soaked cloth in the air, clothes peg it to the front of a fan and turn on low.

August 11th, 2012 at 2:45 pm

margo watt wrote:

Squirrel killer………you are not funny or acceptable to the majority of people….Why don’t you take yourself off to a locked cellar somewhere and stay there.

August 11th, 2012 at 3:14 pm

rebecca wrote:

I use vinegar to clean my washer machine to rid it of the build up and it works well. My biology teacher said that vinegar has the same properties as bleach, but it does not brighten like bleach does.

August 11th, 2012 at 5:04 pm

Kathleen O'Neil wrote:

Apple cider vinegar makes an excellent hair conditioner. I would pour it on my already wet hair straight from the bottle. Work it in and after leaving it in for a couple of minutes I would rinse it out of my hair with water and let it dry. The smell goes away when it dries, and your hair is soft and silky, and wonderfully shiny.

August 12th, 2012 at 12:57 am

Shila wrote:

when”brains” took paint above him on ladder & the inevitable happened, all over his hair, & he srarted screaming that it was burning., I just poured a half ottle straight over his hair[ & over his calling Me stupid & ignorant]& it quit burning right away[vinegar cuts effects of most acidic & burn problems]

August 13th, 2012 at 10:22 pm

Adrian wrote:

I faithfully use a brand of.raw organic apple cider vinegar with raw honey three times daily(2tsps each) to very effectivly relieve joint pain and inflamation, as well as soaking fresh fruits and veggies to lengthen keep time in the fridge(2weeks for many veggies with no spoilage)

August 14th, 2012 at 12:10 am

Donna Johnston wrote:

When I get a new black tactical duty uniform I keep the color from fading over time by adding 1 cup of white vinegar to the washer and then run them through a rinse cycle to set the color.

August 14th, 2012 at 1:21 pm

Phoxy 542 wrote:

I’ve used white vinegar and baking soda to clear clogged drains before. Equal parts baking soda then vinegar, let it sizzle, then pour boiling water down the drain – fixed it right up. Need it as a precaution in soap making too

August 14th, 2012 at 4:46 pm

Jamie Yachad wrote:

I have heard to use it for toenail fungus , which makes sense, given that so many comments here say it is against mildew and infection, so probably fungus , too. And i also drink raw vinegar in water as a routine digestive health. Manuka honey is the best for cuts/ burns, always raw honey is a must. Never even bother to buy pasteurized regular honey; go to the health food store for it!
And if you are not a health-foodist (yet), browse around and get comfortable and start doing all your shopping there, especially all produce and eggs. (-:

August 21st, 2012 at 7:07 am

fauna smith wrote:

Baking soda: alkaline essential for:

First Aid (make a paste with water)
Neutralizing a harsh acid spill on skin (paste)
taking the sting out of a bug bite (paste)

I have “fixed” unusable refrigerators and freezers that have had meat rot in them (first scour unit very well – this will not take the smell away) by pouring baking soda over as much surface as possible wire shelves included. Then, douse this with vinegar. Leave the door closed for at least a half of an hour. If you still smell the rottenness, wipe it out and start over again. If your unit has a plug in the bottom, pull it out and allow the solution to drain from this, sometimes the tubing also needs a treatment and this is a good way to do it. I once treated a brand new refrigerator with this, and it took a few treatments but it saved thousands of dollars in replacement costs!

Vinegar:

Great for getting rid of ants and weeds in stone walks, sidewalk cracks etc.

I was once involved in a lice epidemic in Arizona. We would treat our children with the chemicals on the pharmacy shelves and no sooner would they go back to school than they would return with a new batch. We finally resorted to a prescription from our doctor and were looking at replacing our beds and carpets. The Rx had made our scalps scabbed and painful. I called the health department and they reported that the University of Arizona had done a study on lice treatments. The most effective and least harmful was one with Olive Oil and Vinegar:

1 – soak your scalp with Olive Oil and let set for at least 30 minutes (wrap hair with a towel)

2- shampoo your hair and rinse with vinegar, combing out with a lice comb.

Some cases require more than one treatment, in fact often for a week. The huge advantage of this one is that it is also a very good treatment for your hair and scalp! It repairs your scabby scalp and you quit itching every time you even hear the word lice!

A fun use for the distilled white vinegar is to set pleats with it. Fill your steam iron with it, heat the iron to the proper setting and “permanently” set a pleat where you want it. If you make a mistake, vinegar steam it out and start over.

May 23rd, 2013 at 5:11 am

Rick wrote:

Air conditioner units sometimes get clogged with a build up of a liquid mold in the drip pan / drain lines, and on the cooling coils. A couple of ounces poured into the pan will flush out the mold.
A spray bottle with a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water sprayed on the coils, let sit for 5 minutes (longer damages the alum. vents) then rinse with fresh water clears up the mold.

May 23rd, 2013 at 5:55 am

Tracey wrote:

I use Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) for my pet pigeons. It provides acidity to the water that keeps bad bacteria in check and creates an environment for good gut bacteria to flourish. I give 1 tablespoon per gallon of filtered water as their only drinking source for one day a week for general maintenance. For illness, I up the dosage to 2 tablespoons ACV to 1 gallon of water 1 to 2 times a week. For those who may not know, pigeons make great pets and are actually very intelligent birds. For more information, search for “pigeon talk” online. A great and helpful group of pigeon fanciers.

May 23rd, 2013 at 6:38 am

JoAnne wrote:

My mother and grandma put a small amt of vinegar in homemade bread as a natural preservative. Kept the bread from getting moldy.

May 23rd, 2013 at 8:17 am

Ruth wrote:

I use vinegar in a sinkful of water to clean combs and hairbrushes.

May 23rd, 2013 at 12:41 pm

Don wrote:

What can I use to kill mold in my apartment?

May 23rd, 2013 at 10:30 pm

lisa wrote:

i think Clorox is best to kill mold.. put in a spray bottle with water and spray it.. should go away..

May 27th, 2013 at 10:50 am

Nancy wrote:

To clean stubborn food spots when cleaning the refrigerator, sprinkle baking soda on the spot and then spray with vinegar. This instantly breaks up the spot.

June 3rd, 2013 at 9:11 am

Jim wrote:

The use of vinegar for squirrels broke me up. I was expecting a hint so it caught me by surprise and made me laugh. It’s a joke, get over it.

July 7th, 2013 at 8:23 am

NameLinda wrote:

A lot of people suggested vinegar for stomach and other medical uses. I mix the apple cider vinegar(with mother)that I get at the Health Food Store with raw honey or local honey and add a little warm water. It tastes better and is easier to drink than just vinegar and the honey is good for you. It is nice if you can get local honey, if you can, because it helps with pollen alergies.

July 26th, 2013 at 2:14 pm

Lynne wrote:

I put white vinegar in me dish water and my laundry water and have for many years. But my family and my home health aide scoff a bit.

August 6th, 2013 at 7:55 am

Marshall wrote:

I agree Jim. Try to catch a squirrel with a net. Without a trap would be impossible. You can tell Rob Dell was making a joke. Just more liberal socialist attacks in an attempt to sequester another person from their right to freedom of speech. From a “Cracker”. Tell me again, who are the racists?!?!

August 6th, 2013 at 8:43 am

GVinegar wrote:

Clean tile beautifully!!

August 27th, 2013 at 10:23 am

helen wrote:

I had bad blisters and itching on my feet. went to a dr and he said it was a fungus. prescribed me medicine; didn’t work. after 3 years of suffering, I thought, what the heck. I tried soaking my feet in in vinegar. guess what. after a couple of weeks of soaking, cleared up whatever what was with my feet. haven’t had a problem now for 10 months.

October 11th, 2013 at 8:46 am

Cat Lover wrote:

I have an elderly cat with a mind of his own. He took it into his head to use the carpet in the corner of my office for his bathroom. I did the usual frequent cleaning of the litterbox, but he liked the carpet better. I found some expenseve spray at the pet store which worked pretty well, and had fairly good residual effect. Then I found on the Internet to use a mixture of 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 water, pour it on the carpet, lay down some clean, old towels, walk around on them, and leave them there for a day or two. Pick them up and let the carpet dry. (I hope you test it first for color fastness; mine was fine!) A fan helps dry the carpet at this point. Effect: the smell, both vinegar and cat urine, was gone; the carpet looked great; and the cat got tired of his favorite spot smelling like vinegar and went back to the litterbox.

October 17th, 2013 at 1:34 pm

Carra wrote:

I hope none of you followed David’s advice from August 10th, 2012 at 1:41 pm or the other person who suggested rinsing with vinegar for a toothache. No disrespect to either of you! I am a dental hygienist with over 20 yrs experience, and another 10 yrs dental assistant experience. Vinegar, and many juices, are very acidic. Acid demineralizes our teeth. (Like soda!) If your teeth demineralize you will have decay leading to needing dental treatment! If you don’t want to use commercially produced toothpaste than use xylitol in its granular form (looks like sugar). If xylitol is used 5x/day it can reduce your decay risk by 70%! Tastes great and comes in many forms – you don’t have to brush 5x/day! If you always “have a lot of build up” it will decrease that also. It won’t magically remove the tartar you have. You still need a professional cleaning (sorry), but after your cleaning (floss and brush, too, of course) you will notice less accumulation by using the xylitol because there will be less of the sticky biofilm present on your teeth to calcify into tartar! Just the tip of a teaspoon of xylitol into your mouth. Your saliva can be the liquid to made a rinse. Then brush with it, and spit. I don’t make any money to promote xylitol. I don’t have any stock in any of the companies, and I know this is about vinegar, but I just couldn’t allow people to unknowingly damage their teeth! Keep them strong and healthy, folks! We may need them to chew through tree branches if we don’t have anything else to eat! : )

October 17th, 2013 at 2:23 pm

Darrell wrote:

Vinegar eats RUST. We were restoring some antiques and several of the old metal parts were rusted badly. We removed the parts and soaked them in some vinegar overnight. Next day most of the parts cleaned up nicely. Two parts needed an extra night.

Note that some of the metal was pitted due to the rust being there for so many years but we were talking old heavy metal. The pitting was still there but the parts have no more rust and the antique is almost like new.

October 17th, 2013 at 8:55 pm

NameMeredith wrote:

Had a neighbor that drank a quarter of a cup every day. He lived to be in his late 90s. He also piled wood till his early 90s. He gave credit to the vinegar.

I lowered my insulin by half. Take two of the Apple Cider Vinegar Formula 900mg pills each day. I still ate the same foods, which is what I want.

November 9th, 2013 at 11:34 am

Michelle wrote:

I use it to clean my bunny’s litter box. It works really well!

June 7th, 2014 at 1:07 pm

jan wrote:

wonderful information, I will use all of them, tried the one with paper towels soaked with vinegar on the chrome on my kitchen sink, ALL THE LIME IS GONE, YAH

July 6th, 2014 at 10:11 am

Jessie wrote:

I was wondering if anyone had ever use vinegar to keep pest out like mice or sonethiñg I was told to use it was wondering if it Worked

August 26th, 2014 at 10:38 pm

Bill wrote:

Mixing vinegar and baking soda to make a cleaner isn’t very wise since the two neutralize each other to create a weak acid. A better cleaner is white vinegar, borax and a few drops of Ivory Liquid dish soap.
You also can mix just the vinegar with the borax for use as an antibacterial/fungal treatment. Spray it on cleaned surfaces and let it dry. That’ll leave a surface residue of acetic acid and borax crystals which will deter any growth until it’s washed off.
Dried straight white vinegar residue will repel ants. I spray that around the windows, doors and brick next to the eaves to keep them out of my house.

October 4th, 2014 at 8:46 am

Angela wrote:

I use a 1/2 cup of vinegar and some water in my iron for the mineral deposit clogging the iron.

October 27th, 2014 at 7:31 am

Barra the Bard wrote:

When we redid our kitchen last year, my husband suggested we install a cork floor–bless him! MUCH easier on my knees and back, especially when doing a marathon holiday cooking/baking! Naturally, I asked the installer how best to clean it. What I do now is to add about 1/4 cup white vinegar (it’s a small room) to a small half-pail of water. My old mop won’t fit into this, and is the wrong thing to use anyway. I drop in an old washcloth, wring it out tightly, wrap it around an old Swiffer mop, use on a section quickly so it doesn’t get too wet (cork is porous, after all), take off and repeat with other wrung-out cloths. The bad thing about using a mop over and over is that you can’t help but get the cleaning water dirty when you put the used mop back in it. This really isn’t as hard as it sounds–or you can have the kids rubber-band the cloths around their shoes and “skate” on the floor.
My Scots granny used to make me a posset when I had a sore throat or got sick, and I want to share it in her “voice”: Put the kettle ontae boil. Get oot your favorite mug or prettiest cup and saucer, and a siller (silver) spoon. Put 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar intae the mug. Add 1 tsp. honey. Fill up wi’ the boiling water, stir wi’ the siller spoon, and drink as hot as you can stand. The steam fra (from) the hot water will help open up your head; the vinegar will gie it a nice apple-y taste and cut any phlegm; the honey will soothe your throat and mak’ it sweet, and the pretty cup and siller spoon are tae mak’ you feel pampered! As a performer, I can tell you that this and the Vent Mix really help if you are sick right before a gig.
The Vent Mix I got from Bob Shimer, ventriloquist/storyteller/magician/puppeteer, who in turn learned it from a French vocal surgeon: fill 1/2 of a teaspoon (the table kind, not measuring) with honey (my doctor recommends buckwheat for colds), the other half with softened butter; dust ground thyme over all. Put in your mouth, mix with your tongue and swallow. Sounds worse than it tastes! Using Granny’s Posset and the Vent Mix enabled me to get through a 45-min. solo Christmas program in which I was playing Celtic harp, singing, and telling holiday folktales a couple of years ago.

October 27th, 2014 at 11:08 am

Namesally wrote:

When I do water bath canning I put about 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the water and my jars come out sparkling not white and nasty.

October 27th, 2014 at 11:57 am

Crystal Peterson wrote:

I have a wide collection of sea shells, and in order to keep them fresh and clean I soak them for ten to fifteen minutes in Vinegar. I generally do this once a year, but it also works for if you want to lighten and blur the colors on a shell. You can leave it for thirty minutes or longer, depending on how much color you want left on the shell when it’s done.

I also use vinegar to whiten shark teeth that I collect at the beach. Shark teeth, when found on the beach in the sand, are black. In order to make them white they are often soaked in bleach, but I’ve found that using vinegar is a safer and nicer way to do it. It does take a little more time to whiten shark teeth using vinegar than it does with bleach, but I know my two children are much safer with vinegar around than with bleach around so I no longer use bleach. Vinegar can do almost any job bleach can, as long as the vinegar is used correctly and for long enough. Vinegar is also more stable, it doesn’t cause brain or respiratory damage by breathing it in, and it is less reactive to other chemicals than bleach is, so it’s overall a good, natural chemical to use around the house. I use it in my everyday life.

November 8th, 2014 at 10:48 pm

Ashley wrote:

Wow this is to Marshall your talking about liberal’s!!!! animal abuse isn’t a funny joke…what is funny is u saying the word cracker then asking who the racist is??? when it is apparently you, although I should warn you if your going to be rasist You should at least not be ignorant!!!! (which btw I can think of a word for ignorant ill just be nice and not) hopefully the next time u aim to insult some one with the word cracker… you realize it only insults the black race as it is what the black slaves back In the day… before my time ,called the guy who cracked the whip on them not because we are white like crackers!!!! soo yea lets talk about freedom of speech and be politically correct at the same time… just saying it made my day to read your post you horses butt who is obviously uneducated and an animal abuser.

December 25th, 2014 at 12:03 pm

Sam wrote:

A guy told me that, for years, he’s been taking a shot glass full of apple cider vinegar to get rid of muscle cramps.

January 12th, 2015 at 12:12 am

Katy wrote:

Make cleaning the microwave easy and fast with vinegar. Boil a cup of vinegar mixed with a cup of water in the microwave. Let it sit with the door shut for five minutes and then the stains should wipe away easily.
Best regards! Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners Ltd.